SEGA is busy developing Hatsune Mikue: Project Diva Future Tone and will debut the game on their next-generation arcade hardware which they call ‘Nu’.
The new hardware will support Direct X11 and use Windows Embedded 8 Standard as its OS. Want to see the specs? Hit the jump.
SEGA of Japan has released a new action-packed trailer for Toshihiro Nagoshi’s upcoming 3DS RPG, Hero Bank. The footage provides us with a good look at the cinematic battles, which appear to feature a mix of menu-driven and action-driven gameplay: though the trailer’s editing makes it tough to tell exactly what the balance will be. While the battle scenes are voice acted, it looks like much of the rest of the game’s dialogue will be handled through text boxes.
The trailer also shows that Hero Bank will include some exploration elements, with the main character shown wandering through locations including a city street and classroom. The anime-driven visual style reminds me (during the non-combat sections) somewhat of the look of Shun Nakamura’s Ryhthm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure from last year, though thankfully Hero Bank will have explorable environments instead of a point and click system. The look and feel of the battles is reminiscent of Saturday Morning anime cartoons.
Specifics, especially with regard to Hero Bank’s combat system, are tough for me to judge at this point, as battles look to be text-heavy and as of now no Western release has been announced. The game is said to be targeting a younger audience, comes from Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball mastermind Toshihiro Nagoshi, and will be releasing on December 19th in Japan for the 3DS.
According to Vernon Schieck on twitter, famous for being a ‘not-so-secret behind-the-scenes gaming tipper’, SEGA is going to release a digital version of Sonic Generations on Nintendo’s e-shop. Problem? They want to charge users the premium price of $29.99 for a old game.
Also, Sonic Generations will indeed cost $29.99 when released in Nintendo eShop. It’s currently marked for release on 9/5
— Vernon Schieck (@divinealpha) September 3, 2013
Honestly, I know SEGA is capitalizing on new Nintendo 3DS owners that want to play a Sonic game before Sonic Lost World comes out later in the fall, but charging them a premium price isn’t how you do it.
How much do you think SEGA should charge for a digital version of Sonic Generations on the 3DS?
For the first time, to my knowledge, we’re covering The Wonderful 101 news by way of the reveal that Bayonetta characters Bayonetta, Rodin, and Jeanne have been announced to cameo in the Platinum Games developed and Nintendo published game. Hideki Kamiya, director of Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101, made the announcement at PAX today. What is interesting about this announcement is that this is the first time fully owned SEGA characters from Platinum Games have appeared in a game fully owned by Nintendo. So it’s sort of a SEGA, Nintendo, Platinum Games crossover. No further details have been revealed, thus explaining why I’ve been stretching this little bit of news out to a paragraph length.
Nine returning characters have been announced for the upcoming Yakuza Ishin. The list so far includes popular characters like Ryuji Goda, Akira Nishiki and Date. But who are they playing in this game? If you haven’t read, the game will take old characters from the Yakuza universe and plant them as characters during the bakumatsu period in Japan.
To see all twelve returning characters and their roles in the new game, hit the jump.
Platinum Games has just released The Wonderful 101 on the Nintendo Wii U, their first game with Nintendo and another game by Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya. At PAX, Siliconera asked Kamiya if he would want to make a game on the Nintendo 3DS and Kamiya said he had two ideas for the handheld.
“Given the chance, I’d like to make a game based on Jeanne from Bayonetta. Something that’s not as big in scale. Something that’s portable, that you could play in quick sessions, where she’s a history teacher and the kind of fun things that could come out of a scenario like that.” – Hideki Kamiya (Director of Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101)
So what was the second idea? Well, if you are an Okami fan, time to hit that jump button.
Hatsune Miku Project Diva F is out now in North America both in retail and on PSN. In Europe the game has been delayed to next week and is only available digitally. I’ve started playing the game today and it is a lot of fun. I plan to have a review up by next week, maybe this weekend if I get through the game faster than I think I will. So, stay tuned!
[Above is SEGA Australia’s pre-alpha prototype pitch for Golden Axe remake under their label ‘SEGA Reborn’]
SEGA Australia isn’t known as the type of studio that had too many hits, but it seemed that the team was finally hitting their stride with the Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse remake that is coming out in early September. Sadly that will be the studio’s last game, since it was announced that they will be closing by the end of the year.
Seems that the studio pitched for a series of remakes, most notably ‘Golden Axe’ and all to be in a new label called ‘SEGA Reborn’. That’s not all though, the company thought that all these classics should take place in the same universe. Yes, we are talking about Marvel movie treatment with retro games. That would mean that a game like Out Run takes place hundreds of years after Golden Axe.
Much like its remake of Castle of Illusion, they where open to going in and adding new content and fixing issues the originals had. Some of the other games they talked about remaking included Streets of Rage and Shinobi. Hit the jump to see video of the ‘Golden Axe’ remake that the studio pitched to SEGA.
Could the SEGA Alliance program be continuing? SEGA Blog’s latest post has revealed their PAX Prime 2013 demo lineup, which includes a game that has not been mentioned by SEGA until now. The Seattle event will feature Sonic Lost World, Total War: ROME II, Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA F, and Heroki at booth #142/242. Heroki, by iOS developer Picomy Games, is described as a “platformer that is a story based action/adventure game but different from regular run and jump type of platformers, many people are already familiar with. The core of the game lies on the flying aspect, giving the player much more freedom then regular platformers. Sure, Heroki can also walk/run but he’s at his finest in the air where he can perform lots of different abilities providing a unique experience that is ideal for a touchscreen.”
The Picomy Games blog features screens, art, and gameplay footage of Heroki, however the blog itself hasn’t been updated since October 2012. Perhaps SEGA and Picomy have been working on the game together since the indie’s blog went silent? Check out some gameplay footage after the break!
A little more information on Yakuza Ishin (being called Yakuza Resurrection by the media) has come out. First of all it is detailed that the opening part of the game will show Sakamoto Ryoma’s death by they Bakufu supporters. Then it will go to a prologue that will be played in Tosa, but the game will mostly take place in ancient Koyoto.
Thanks to the SEGA Blog, we now have more details on the previously revealed NiGHTS into Dreams inspired Wii U Sonic Lost World DLC. As described by SEGA, “Sonic has been sucked into a world of nightmares created by Wizeman, and must defeat the Deadly Six, who are riding on gigantic Nightmaren monsters inspired from the game NiGHTS into Dreams….” The content includes an exclusive level that is accessed via a download code which is obtained when pre-ordering the game (or while supplies last). SEGA says the DLC will be instantly playable, and that upon completing the level a special Color Power (usually only obtainable from Miiverse) is rewarded. SEGA also notes that the Deadly Six Bonus Edition will be called the Deadly Six Edition in Europe. Given that SEGA did not link to any specific retailer, it is being assumed that like Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, this bonus edition will be available to all who pre-order and purchase within the release window. Later pressings of the game will likely drop the content.
After the break, check out the special cover art as well as a few new screens.
UPDATE: We’ve added more images to the gallery!
We already posted all the new information that was available on this title and now we have screenshots of the in-game graphics. Check out the gallery below.
So what do you think? There was a rumor that this was going to be a Playstation Vita title, but honestly looks too good graphically for Vita, no?
Total War: Rome II is almost coming out, what better way to show off the new Collector’s Edition of the game than by being attacked by dogs? Well, check out the funny video posted by the boys at Creative Assembly, they are taking the unboxing game to the next level.
According to the video, the collector’s edition will be limited to 22,000 copies, grab yours before their gone!
Even though Yakuza 5 only came out 8 months ago over in Japan, SEGA is already teasing the next title in the franchise, Yakuza: Ishin (Ishin apparently translates to Resurrection). So, why not just make Yakuza 6?
“In terms of volume and quality, we felt like we did everything we could with Yakuza 5. If I had to put it out there, I’d say that if we want to do another numbered title in the series, we’ll need a little time for that.” – Toshihiro Nagoshi, director of Yakuza series
Like we told you when the game was first revealed, you will take the role of a real life historical figure, Sakamoto Ryoma. The game will take place in mid 19th century Japan during the final years of the shogunate ruling.
Just like in history, Sakamoto was born into a low ranking Samurai clan known as Tosa fiefdom. Ryoma gets frustrated with the strict caste system, so him and his friend Takechi Hanpeita form a political group to reform the government and resist the rapid Westernization that is taking place in Japan at the time. The villain the the game? Saito Hajime, leader of the Shinsengumi group of samurai that are loyal to the shogunate.
In addition to the new trailer which reveals NiGHTS bosses appearing in Sonic Lost World, which you can see here, SEGA has also released a ton of new screens from Sonic Lost World showing off various stages including Frozen Factory, 2-player assist mode, 2-player racing, Miiverse functionality, as well as the game’s world map. Like Sonic Colors, it appears that Sonic will run from act to act on a little map, and like Sonic Unleashed the more you progress in the game the more Lost Hex comes together. Check out the screens after the break, and as always share your comments below or in our lovely dedicated forum topic.